China Adds Planted Forests, But Loses Natural Ones

China's extensive tree-planting initiatives have successfully boosted the nation's total forest cover over the past three decades. Yet, a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment indicates a more complex reality: while planted forests have expanded, natural forests have simultaneously diminished and become increasingly fragmented.

The research, analyzing forest changes between 1990 and 2020, found that China gained approximately 447,500 square kilometers of planted forest. Crucially, during the same timeframe, the country lost 219,100 square kilometers of its natural forest. By 2020, only 9.6% of China's natural forests remained fully intact, highlighting a significant degradation of these vital ecosystems.

Researchers observed that the fragmentation of natural forests intensified across 60% to 64% of China's provinces and counties, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. This fragmentation accelerated between 2000 and 2015. The study identifies the rapid expansion of tree plantations, often monocultures for commercial use, as a primary driver. A significant portion of new plantation growth occurred adjacent to natural forests, creating new boundaries and dividing larger, continuous forest areas into smaller, isolated patches.

The study cautions that aggregating all forest types into a single national statistic can create a misleading impression of overall forest health. This approach obscures the critical loss and fragmentation of natural forests, which support greater biodiversity and ecological resilience compared to plantations. The findings underscore the need for nuanced assessments that distinguish between planted and natural forest ecosystems to accurately understand China's environmental trajectory.